Month: August 2013

As we end out the last hours of the end of the week and the end of the month, I hope that you have redefined your goals that will have you playing a bigger game, keeping in mind that is the first day of your new life; the life that you want and that will bring you all that you desire. If you have, then wake-up tomorrow ready to face your new reality. If not, take this restful holiday weekend to do so – you get a pass for Labor Day to relax, dream, create and plan. No longer can you put off getting what you want so go do it today!

Today is day 30 of my blog challenge! While it hasn’t always been easy to find the time (and sometimes topics) I made the commitment and did it. Knowing that it takes at least 30 days for a habit to form, I should assume that mine is set; but, alas, it is not (quite). Habits can take up to 60 days as we deal with social media and that old myth of ‘multitasking.’ Wanting instant results will lead to failure of ensuring that the actions you take will stick.

The key to sustaining habits lies in consistency of the actions you’ve taken towards whatever goal you’ve worked for. If you desire to reach your goals, keep in mind that it is not a race but a marathon; I liked to equate it to the tortoise and the hare – you can do things quickly (the hare) but it is better to take slow and methodical, like the tortoise. If you remember, he won the race but it wasn’t from running quickly or taking short-cuts.

Here are steps I took to help me reach this goal that you can easily implement:

I made the decision to do the challenge – I did this blog challenge last August and felt the time was right to do it again this year. Once I made the decision…

I made the commitment – for me, this meant that there was no option but to write daily, whether it was a really meaningful post or a quote. When I felt like giving it up, or skipping a day, I kept that personal commitment in mind which helped me to…

Take action – writing daily felt exhilarating in the beginning, then like a chore in the middle, and finally energizing at the end. Not wanting to let myself down was enough to keep me posting.

I am not telling you that writing daily was easy but I can honestly say that, now that the goal is reached, I feel more accomplished and aware that I can keep on and achieve any goal that I want. Having to answer to yourself – and knowing that you held true – is an empowering feeling. So go ahead and make your own challenge – I dare you!

Let me know how you on your challenge (or if I can help you get them!)

It is finally happening – federal employees, Boomers to be exact, are finally feeling ready to leave their government jobs. It is predicted that approximately 80,000 are set to retire by the end of the fiscal year, according to the Office of Personnel Management. This number is expected to increase as we move on and the Boomers age; more than a third of federal workers are eligible to retire by 2016 – 3 out of 5 will be at the executive level.

Some of the reasons they are giving include financial freezing of their wages and retirement accounts, furloughs and low morale. This number is impacting executive levels as their knowledge and experience is also walking out the door. While this signals good news for younger workers, some positions will not be easy to replace due to required experience levels, such as air traffic controllers or those in research positions, which often takes years to acquire.

It seems that the economic downturn forced many to stay in their jobs, who would have been otherwise gone; but it doesn’t seem that there has been a good succession plan in place to prepare for this exodus, as it was going to happen eventually as time moved on. Some interventions that some governmental agencies are doing and which can be an example for organizations to begin considering and planning for, as they will also be impacted, are to offer the career lattice that I have previously discussed, which is offering workers the opportunity to get trained and experienced in several different skill-sets and work areas, another is training and mentoring opportunities, while another is to have a phase-out policy, where an executive could retire but continue working part-time with partial compensation for which they would mentor and train their successors.

This problem is not going to get better as the last of the Boomers are not going to reach age 65 until 2030. I think our younger workforce is ready to move into those positions but need developed in the skills that will fully enable them to do the job well. It will be interesting to see how this will impact our federal agencies – take one other lesson from these agencies and don’t wait to develop and put in place a succession plan today.

As we are winding the last few days of August, we are now facing the last 4 months of the year. While this can be exciting to create new opportunities, this can also elicit feelings of fear out of making those dreams a reality. Some of this may involve some major life changes which comes with big decisions, all of which will greatly impact your life. If you find yourself struggling with making a big decision, here are some quick steps to think about:

really understand the ‘why’ of making the change – this is the need to let go of something that has not been working and wanting to go after what will; if you’re not clear on this then you will be held back

recognize what is actually holding you back – is it the fear of change or making the wrong decision; it is worry over money or involves other people; do you actually believe you can make the change – resolving these will help propel you forward

do the research – knowing everything about the proposed decision will help you be more informed; you can do this by researching on the internet, talking to people who have experienced the same change, or seeking help from a coach who can help and support you in making the best informed decision

Only with enough self-awareness and knowledge can one make a decision that feels ‘right’ which leads to acting to get the desired result. Using the simple exercise of taking a piece of paper and writing down the pros/cons of all areas is helpful, as well as using the principles of the Six Thinking Hats, where you list out what the best result, the worst, result, what is known, what needs to be known and then using your creativity to uncover any ideas listed are helpful tools in decision-making, Another is having trust in yourself and and using the ‘voice’ inside (your intuition) as you guide.

I read with interest a recent article that our local Workforce agency is having difficulty in finding people to enroll in a federally funded program that is focused on high-tech training for the manufacturing industry. The training, which is a 6-month program, will pay the cost of course training, books, and a paid internship. I am really unclear why this program is not full. Is it because the program has not been advertised or marketed, or that people don’t see the value in the offerings and what it can lead to?

The six-month program will lead to a national certification and the opportunity for a 3-month, on-the-job paid internship. If interested, and you live in the Orlando area (although you could check with your local Workforce agency in your area), you can contact Workforce Central Florida www.workforcecentralflorida.com